


take two

by jinjangled



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, bin does stupid stuff while trying to avoid doing other stupid stuff, dongmin is a poor worried baby :((, drama club, i guess, i just wanted drama club astro, its fluff but its like.. not that cute??, plot? i dont know her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 07:42:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13359699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinjangled/pseuds/jinjangled
Summary: Moonbin finds himself drawn to a tall, handsome member of the school's drama club. He befriends the whole club in an attempt to get closer to Dongmin, freaks out, and brings everyone down with him.





	take two

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first thing i've written since my last published fic, go easy on me yikes  
> come find me here at [@jinjangled](https://jinjangled.tumblr.com) on tumblr dot com. new and improved.  
> inspired by god knows what. probably myungjin's 'musical'.

The first big assembly at a new school is always a curious event.

It’s the first look inside of a school, not as a visitor, but as a student. You see the important people, school captains, and learn of the values that the school _said_ they hold dear, but you never really hear about those values until the next assembly months later.

This school was the largest school Moonbin had been enrolled at, by far. Their gymnasium even had a _stage_ , for goodness sakes! He looked around with curious eyes, looking at the sporting achievements plastered on the walls, and the screen behind the stage that welcomed students new and old. The teachers looked stern, but among them were some teachers that Moonbin knew he would get along with. He was nervous as he took his seat in the row filled with people who he would soon know as his classmates.

Every face was unfamiliar, aside from Minhyuk’s. Minhyuk was currently turned around in his seat a few rows forward, pulling an absolutely awful face at Moonbin. If he wasn’t so nervous, he’d be a little embarrassed on Minhyuk’s behalf. Moonbin felt a little sad that Minhyuk was in the year level below, the age difference of one year had never mattered in the years Moonbin had known him, until now.

A hush fell upon the large body of students, Moonbin wondered if _any_ school needed to have this many people. The principal began speaking, but Moonbin quickly lost interest. It was the same drivel that every school principal spoke about, so there was nothing new he was missing out on. He looked at the backs of people's heads, wondering if he’d become friends with any of them. He wondered how many of these people were new like him, and how many also felt these first-day nerves.

The principal announced a performance by the school’s drama club. Moonbin looked back to the stage, hoping that the performance wouldn’t be too horrible.

He watched as around ten students walked onto the stage, all carrying a prop of some description. They took their positions toward the back of the stage, falling still. Slowly, three other students walked onto the stage, beginning their lines. They spoke with passion, and emotion in their voices. As they turned around to face the crowd, Moonbin watched, but he didn’t really… listen. He was much too focused on the one standing in the middle, bright eyes looking out toward the audience with a confidence that demanded the focus of the crowd. His smile was wide, genuine, and his voice was clear as he said words that Moonbin didn’t register. This boy was quite possibly the most beautiful person he’d ever seen. The way he held himself was graceful and practiced, and he looked as if he _knew_ he belonged there. He was disappointed when they bowed and walked out of sight.

 

 

That was six months ago now, and Moonbin had more than settled into the school. Although Minhyuk wasn’t in any of his classes, they managed to spend as much time as they could together. Walking to class together as long as they could before they went their separate ways gave them time to talk about the newest dance routine they were learning outside of school at their dance studio. They had met there, as young children, through their shared passion for dancing. Lunch was spent together every day, sharing their food if they were feeling particularly generous. They talked about what happened the night before at home, or anything interesting that happened in their classes.

Settling into the school also meant that Moonbin felt more comfortable navigating the campus. He found quicker ways to get to certain classrooms, and other less practical routes that allowed him to pass by the drama room. Every time he glanced through the window in the door, he saw them laughing and playing some sort of game. He wondered how much practice they actually did, after seeing them having a sword fight _much_ too serious for a Wednesday morning. The handsome boy he’d seen and found himself drawn to seemed to be particularly close with the shortest boy he’d seen on stage, the one who had possibly the biggest smile he’d ever seen, and eyes that had equal parts mischief and kindness hidden in them. The tallest boy that he had seen performing had bottomless energy from what he’d seen, and always had a camera on hand in case one of his friends did something embarrassing. Another shorter boy that he hadn’t seen on stage acting but he’d seen making a speech as _school captain_ whose name he had forgotten was often in the drama room with them. Moonbin absolutely adored the friendship the four of them had. It didn’t seem to matter that the tallest was much younger than the others, and the rest of the world didn’t seem to matter when they were together in the same place. Moonbin wanted to be in on what they had, or he wanted something like it.

 

 

Minhyuk had introduced Moonbin to a boy named Sanha recently. As soon as Minhyuk had brought Sanha up to him, Moonbin gasped and said,

“Oh! You’re in the drama club!” a little too excitedly. Sanha didn’t seem to mind, if anything, he seemed ecstatic that Moonbin had seen him up on stage. Sanha had greeted him cheerfully, and explained that he had joined straight away when he could in year 7.

“I’m in year 9 now, but Myungjun treats me like I’m in preschool.” He pouted. Minhyuk made a noise like he agreed with whoever Myungjun was, and this earned him a shove from Sanha.

Sanha would join the two of them at lunch if he didn’t have drama, or if it was cancelled on very rare occasions. Sanha had pointed out each member of the club if they passed by, and Moonbin soon learnt their names and a few of their antics. Myungjun turned out to be the short one with the big smile, and the school captain was Jinwoo. Jinwoo wasn’t in the club, but he hung around to spend time with Myungjun. The handsome one with the pretty smile was Dongmin, and Moonbin sure wanted to get to know _him_.

It was maybe once a week that Sanha could make it to lunch. Sanha talked a lot, a lot more than either Minhyuk or Moonbin did, but neither minded very much. Minhyuk listened intently, paying close attention to even the most mindless of thoughts that spilled out of Sanha’s mouth, and Moonbin wondered if that was how he looked when he first saw Dongmin on stage.

 

 

Myungjun and Sanha were chasing each other around the drama room, where Dongmin sat between them looking rather fed up with their antics. Moonbin laughed quietly as he walked past, and wondered how Sanha seemed so comfortable with Myungjun. Even though the boy was only one year older, Moonbin felt intimidated by him, purely because of what year level he was in. Myungjun and Jinwoo would soon be graduating, and would most likely start feeling the pressures of exams around this time of the year, and Moonbin felt a little sad knowing that they would be gone by next year. Yet, Myungjun was there running after Sanha with the biggest grin on his face.

 

“Sanha,” Moonbin said slowly, speaking around the bite of food he had in his mouth, the afternoon sun heating the top of his head. “How are you and Myungjun so comfortable with each other?”

“What do you mean?” Sanha asked, looking a little confused with his eyebrows furrowed.

“I don’t really know.” Moonbin huffed. “I just thought it would be... hard to be comfortable with people in higher year levels.”

“It’s never really been _not_ comfortable. I signed up for the club and that was sort of it, Myungjun asked me what my name was and then gave me a script. We just seem to get along well.” Sanha explained, sounding as if he’d never really given it much thought.

 

 

Moonbin had been keeping an eye out for Dongmin ever since he first saw him. After none of his classes included Dongmin, he turned his attention to the hallways and outside areas. Every now and again he would pass by Dongmin and Myungjun, sometimes accompanied by Jinwoo. The group would always be talking about something, laughing at a joke or discussing something serious. If Moonbin didn’t know any better, he’d have thought that Dongmin was also graduating this year alongside them.

Moonbin was a little annoyed that Dongmin took the complete opposite classes to those that Moonbin took. _Of course_ Dongmin studied literature instead of the mainstream language course, and _of course_ he took science subjects rather than humanities. _Of course_ he did.

This didn’t stop him from trying his very best to get Dongmin’s attention as they passed each other. All he wanted was for Dongmin to look up, to smile his pretty smile at Moonbin. To his soul-crushing disappointment, he never noticed him.

Moonbin admired Dongmin, in all honesty. The way that he seemed to shine when he was on stage, how he seemed so happy up there in his element. He looked almost professional, or as professional as a high school student could get. He amazed Moonbin with his confidence both on stage and in the school hallways. The way he listened closely and watched with intelligent eyes, making eye contact with his friends, and making comments that looked well informed.

Not only was Dongmin the most handsome person Moonbin had ever seen, but he was also _smart_. He had the most wonderful smile, and Moonbin wanted nothing more than to hear his laugh.

Moonbin decided that he was going to sign up for the drama club.

 

 

Fueled by nervous energy, Moonbin made his way over to the arts building. He passed through here to get to his history classes, as it was nice and warm and provided shelter from the rain. Another benefit was that this was where the drama room was, tucked away toward the back. There was no way anyone could miss it, though. Clearly handmade, there were giant letters cut out of fluro green paper stuck onto the door, spelling out the word _DRAMA!_ in all capital letters. There was a finishing touch of misshapen origami stars of varying size and colour. It never failed to make Moonbin smile.

There was a new note attached to the door today, and Moonbin sighed a very dejected sigh when he came close enough to read it.

_Attention! We are not receiving application forms until next term due to the production at the end of this term. We are sorry to anyone looking to apply, but we are also looking forward to seeing you next term! Please keep supporting us! - The Drama Club_

Moonbin shrugged, more disappointed than he would’ve liked to admit, but he headed back to the bench outside where Sanha and Minhyuk sat. Moonbin considered going back inside as he saw Minhyuk’s fond expression aimed at Sanha, paired with a faint blush on his cheeks.

He sat back down heavily on the bench, looking over at Sanha, kicking at the ground.

“I can apply for the club next term, right?” he confirmed. Sanha turned his head around so fast that Moonbin briefly worried about his neck. His eyes were wide, mouth slightly open.

“The drama club? You want to join?” Minhyuk asked, his expression matching Sanha’s almost perfectly.

“Well… yeah. I’d like to pick up another hobby, and it looks like a lot of fun. Imagine, I could act while dancing!” he teased Minhyuk, only half serious.

“God. We should start a circus.” Minhyuk scoffed, smiling nonetheless.

 

 

Moonbin could’ve waited the last few weeks of term until he could sign up, but every time he saw Dongmin, he was reminded of how much he wanted to talk to him, to make him smile. It took him a couple of days before he formulated a plan, a plan that he was quite proud of.

“Minhyuk, can I ask a really big favour? I’ll shout snacks next dance rehearsal.” Moonbin asked him one lunch, when Sanha wasn’t there. Minhyuk hummed, turning his head from where he was laying on the grass next to Moonbin. “I was thinking, since I can’t join the club yet and I don’t know if I’m fully committed yet, we could try and sit in on a rehearsal?”

Minhyuk grumbled, looking at him.

“Why would you want to do that?”

“Well…” _To see Dongmin?_ “It’d give me a taste of what they do and what I might be signing myself up for.”

Next to him, Minhyuk didn’t look so convinced. Moonbin sighed. He didn’t want to do this, but it was his final option.

“Besides… Sanha would be there? You’ll get to see him practice?”

 

 

Sanha appeared the next day, bubbly and happy as per usual. He had a mouthful of what appeared to be a chocolate chip cookie, and Moonbin could barely figure out what he was trying to say. He didn’t know where to look, or if the food in his mouth was demanding more attention than the words that were actually coming out of it.

“You’re coming to our rehearsal today, right? I asked Myungjun and he said yes! It’d be good to hear some feedback!” he exclaimed. Minhyuk looked at him like he wasn’t showing them exactly what he was eating, with a look of utmost fondness. Moonbin sighed.

Sanha had directed them toward some chairs at the front of the room, Jinwoo greeting them as they came in.

“You’re Minhyuk? Sanha’s told us about you.” Sanha’s cheeks slowly turn pink, busying himself with shuffling papers, his acting quite awful for someone who was currently in the _drama_ club. “And you’re Minhyuk’s friend, Moonbin, then?”

“That’s us.” Moonbin smiled, taking the hand Jinwoo offered, and shaking it. Moonbin understood why he had been elected as school captain, his face kind and mouth forming a calming smile. He had a way about him that was both confident but humble, and eyes that made Moonbin feel as if Jinwoo could guess every emotion he felt. Minhyuk and Moonbin took a chair each, sitting down. Sanha, from where he stood across the room, shoved what looked like a whole quarter of a sandwich into his mouth as he grinned at Minhyuk. Myungjun walked in a few minutes after, accompanied by Dongmin, both waving at Minhyuk and Moonbin. Moonbin felt his heart skip a beat as Dongmin’s eyes met his. Dongmin offered a small smile before turning to walk over to Sanha, hands reaching for Sanha’s food.

Myungjun was the club captain, fulfilling his position by making sure everyone knew what they were doing. Today they were to go over a scene that they hadn’t done in a while, which included just the three of them.

By the time lunch had come to an end, Moonbin had watched them work out easier ways to remember their cues and take breaks to mess around. Moonbin and Minhyuk had watched them curiously, but Dongmin had been the main recipient of Moonbin’s attention. He played the role of a student trying to fit in at school, but ending up making a fool of himself. It was a lighthearted play, one that didn’t have much plot, but served as comedic relief for the end of the first half of the year. Moonbin had never wanted anything more than to be in this club, so that he could be a part of this. Everything that Dongmin did was graceful, every word was said with passion and the right tone. His heart was truly in the play, and Moonbin’s heart was truly invested in Dongmin.

Before they left, Dongmin made his way over to where Moonbin waited for Sanha and Minhyuk to finish their conversation.

“I’m Dongmin.” He introduced himself. “I haven’t seen you around that much! You’re still pretty new, right?”

Moonbin’s heart tripped, stumbled over its own beat, and his brain struggled to figure out exactly what to do. The huge smile on Dongmin’s face and the look of genuine kindness in his eyes sends him into a state of panic, but he manages to smile back nervously.

“Yeah, I’m Moonbin.” he says, his voice a shade of shy that he’d never heard. He can feel himself blushing, but when Dongmin smiled at him like that, he couldn’t bring himself to really care all that much.

“You and Minhyuk seem really close, did you know him before you came here?”

“Yeah, actually! We do dancing together, we have since we were kids.” Moonbin explains, and the way Dongmin tilts his head slightly as he listens and nods to Moonbin’s story is adorable and makes him feel so _comfortable_. The way that all pressure to force an interesting conversation disappears as Dongmin asks Moonbin to elaborate on little details and replies with stories of his own solidifies the fact that Moonbin likes Dongmin quite a lot.

Moonbin soon forms a new routine with Minhyuk, heading straight to the drama room after grabbing their lunches from their lockers. They sit and watch the rehearsals, and some days they sit and talk, all six of them.

Sanha and Minhyuk gradually become even closer, Sanha resting against his shoulder as they chat and joke around. Myungjun’s bright personality and energy draws Moonbin in, and it seems he isn’t the only one; Jinwoo has a look of fondness that challenges Minhyuk’s. Myungjun asks Moonbin about his old school, and about his life before he moved towns, laughing at the right times and giving a look of sympathy when he discusses leaving his old friends behind. Myungjun promises acceptance from himself, and wraps Moonbin up in his arms briefly. Moonbin finds himself laughing and playing along with Myungjun’s games and jokes. It seems too easy, spending time with them, and suddenly he understands what Sanha meant when he said it had never been uncomfortable.

At the end of rehearsals, Dongmin never fails to walk up to him and offer easy conversation. He asks if he has any pets, or siblings, and asks for stories about them. In return, Moonbin offers the same small talk; but it seems a little more personal than small talk. He finds himself waiting eagerly for the end of lunch to roll around, so he can see the look of interest on Dongmin’s face, the small smile he wears when Moonbin talks, and the quiet laugh he gives sometimes.

Moonbin slowly, but surely, falls for Dongmin more with every day passing.

 

 

“Moonbin!” He hears Dongmin call as he goes to leave with Minhyuk. Moonbin turns around to see Dongmin walking after him, soft black hair falling across his forehead. “What class have you got next?”

“I’ve got psychology, why?”

“Oh, I’m headed that way too! Mind if I walk with you?” Dongmin asks, and Moonbin’s mind goes a little fuzzy. He feels breathless as he nods, watching Minhyuk walk away with Sanha.

Dongmin chats eagerly about Moonbin’s subjects, asking about what he’s looking at doing in his final year. He talks about his own subject choices, and Moonbin briefly wonders about how Dongmin will manage that many difficult subjects and still sleep well. He spends a long while just staring at Dongmin’s handsome features, also wondering about how exactly he does that. How he looks so effortlessly beautiful. It’d probably be annoying if he didn’t like him so much.

Much to Moonbin’s disappointment, Dongmin says goodbye with a sweet smile as Moonbin reaches the psychology classroom, Moonbin shyly smiles back. He takes his seat in the middle row, thinking about Dongmin’s beautiful smile as he watches him leave.

About half an hour later, he realises that _the chemistry lab is nowhere near this classroom_ , and with that he promptly cannot focus on the class, face hot and heart fluttering in his chest.

 

 

Dongmin now stops him in the halls whenever they pass by each other, asking him how his day is, if he ate enough breakfast, and if he brought a warm scarf. _‘It’s cold outside today, Moonbin, don’t catch a cold!’_

For a few days, this was okay. It was fine, Moonbin was fine. However, he got a little more lost as he thought about what this would mean. He hadn’t been here for a year yet, was chasing after somebody like this too soon? Was it right to be seeking Dongmin’s affections this early? It shouldn’t even matter what people thought, but knowing that didn’t stop him from worrying. He also considered what this meant for Minhyuk; if he screwed up with Dongmin and couldn’t face coming to rehearsals, that meant that Minhyuk would also withdraw. Falling out with Dongmin because of a feeling Moonbin chased, because of a moment that turned sour, meant that Minhyuk would direct his unconditional support and comfort toward Moonbin. Minhyuk would never let Moonbin be lonely should Moonbin decide to leave the group. That meant that Minhyuk wouldn’t see Sanha much anymore, and that in turn would make Sanha sad. If he could do anything, he would see that Sanha remains as happy as he can. The thought of Sanha feeling like Minhyuk was withdrawing or even losing sleep because of something Moonbin was doing wasn’t a thought he was happy to have, or a thought he wanted to become reality.

Moonbin does the only thing he can do, he tries to return his and Dongmin’s friendship to what it was at first. Friendly, polite, but nothing more. He replied to Dongmin’s questions, but left out the details he wanted to tell, that he was all too eager to share just a week ago. He ignored his desires to catch Dongmin’s attention, his desires to make him laugh. Dongmin seems to take a hint, but Moonbin’s not too sure he’s taken the _right_ hint.

Dongmin and Myungjun talk more often, heads together and voices low, and Moonbin just _knows_ they’re talking about him. Myungjun’s eyebrows knit together as he thinks carefully, speaking slowly as if he might say something wrong. He feels bad, but he remembers why he’s doing this. He’s keeping peace. He reminds himself that he’s doing this so that everyone can stay happy.

 

It was a Thursday afternoon. Myungjun announces their scene, getting into character. They all shift their weight between their feet, a little bored with the lines they say. All except for Dongmin. They all say their lines properly, but Dongmin…

Dongmin doesn’t do so well.

He stutters in his first line. He misses the cue for his second line. His third line is okay, but he completely forgets the one after that. Myungjun looks perplexed, maybe a little frustrated, but mostly worried. Dongmin _never_ forgets a line. Sometimes he stuttered, but that was either due to excitement or suppressed laughter. The room fell silent as Dongmin quietly apologised, blaming it on his poor sleep, but Moonbin felt guilt eat its way up through his chest and sit in his throat, fat and heavy. He could barely breathe past it, his stomach turning, head dizzy. Dongmin wasn’t sleeping properly, he knew that as soon as he saw the dark circles and pale skin. Dongmin had done just fine in the past without sleeping properly, complaining about the sticky heat preventing decent sleep, but then proceeded to do perfectly. Moonbin knew it was his fault. The look of anxiety in Dongmin’s eyes, surveying everyone’s faces after he spoke to make sure he hadn’t said something to make anyone feel uncomfortable.

Moonbin realised that Dongmin thought he’d done something wrong, stepped out of line, made him uncomfortable. Dongmin was taking the blame for Moonbin’s freakout.

Moonbin threw up as soon as he got home, and went straight to bed. He didn’t sleep.

 

 

The group watches sadly as Dongmin zones out during Friday’s rehearsals, and once he resurfaces, stumbles over his lines and then asks if they can start over. Dongmin didn’t have any energy left in him, no happiness in his eyes. He didn’t even bother to force a smile.

“What’s gotten into you, Dongminnie?” Jinwoo asks, mouth pressed into a flat line. Jinwoo looked more worried than Moonbin had ever seen him. Moonbin couldn’t take it any longer.

He got up and left.

 

 

“Moonbin!” a voice calls down the hallway. Moonbin turns to see Sanha jogging toward him. “Moonbin. Can we talk?”

Sanha had led him to a quiet place in the courtyard at the front of the school, sitting down on the grass. He patted the spot next to him. As they sat together, Sanha seemed to let a moment of contemplative silence settle on them. He took a deep breath.

“Look, I know we aren’t really that close, at least compared to you and Minhyukie... but I’m really close to Dongmin.” Sanha starts, voice quiet but determined. His eyes search Moonbin’s, and the innocence and protectiveness in them hit a sore spot in Moonbin. “I _really_ like Dongmin. He’s like my big brother. It’s… kind of killing me, seeing him like this. Can you please try and fix this? I know it’s got something to do with you… that’s just the most obvious reason I can think of.”

Moonbin couldn’t find the right words to say, besides a quiet apology. There _was_ nothing more he could say, besides a thousand apologies.

“Just promise me you’ll try, right? Even if it doesn’t work, I’ll respect you if you just _try._ ” Sanha begged, his hand reaching out to sit on Moonbin’s thigh. Another moment of silence, where Sanha’s words rang in Moonbin’s ears. “Dongmin really wanted to get to know you. Don’t let him get to know a you that isn’t truly _you_.”

 

 

It annoyed him to no end that Sanha, two years younger than him, had a wisdom and logic better than his own. Minhyuk smiled a little sadly when Moonbin told him what Sanha said.

“He’s right,” he supplied, unhelpfully.

“I _know_ he’s right. I just don’t want anyone getting hurt.” Moonbin spat. Minhyuk stared him right in the eyes.

“We’re all hurting more, watching this happen. A little awkwardness never killed anyone. But this? Seeing Dongmin crumble?” Minhyuk pressed, looking more than frustrated. “I _hate_ this. Dongmin thinks he’s ruined everything, he thinks he was too straightforward and freaked you out. If you guys had an awkward moment, we could make a joke about it and live normally. Is that what you’re afraid of? That something might be a little awkward?”

“Minhyuk-”

“No, Moonbin. Think logically for a second. Not whatever you consider logically, but what the rest of us do. We can fix _awkward_ . We can’t fix whatever the hell this is. Please, for everyone’s sake, either fix it yourself, or make it awkward so _we_ can fix it.” Minhyuk scolded him. Moonbin sighed angrily; angry with himself and the situation he’d created.

Over the next few days, Minhyuk both scolded him and calmed him down. He forced Moonbin to consider possible options, forced Moonbin to look at the bigger picture and to stop focusing on _what ifs_.

Moonbin cried a lot about it, too. He saved it for when he got home, face down on his bed, sobbing into a pillow.

 

 

Dongmin was right there. He was in the same room as him, breathing the same air, seeing the same things. Yet, Dongmin still felt out of his reach. His pride held them at arm’s length, and Moonbin fought tooth and nail to get to Dongmin, reaching out as far as he could, hoping to grab onto him and just _hold on_.

Moonbin came to rehearsals early on Wednesday the following week. Dongmin was already there, reading over a script. The door clicked shut behind him, leaving them alone in the stifling silence.

“Dongmin.” His voice was barely anything more than a loud whisper. It didn’t need to be more than that, but as Dongmin looked up at him with hopeful, anxious, sad eyes, he realised that maybe he actually couldn’t say his name loud _enough_.

“Dongmin.” Louder this time. He walked closer, sitting down on a chair across from him. Dongmin held his gaze, strongly, even though they hadn’t talked in just under a week. Now, sitting across from Dongmin, he couldn’t believe he’d found a reason to ignore him. Dongmin hadn’t deserved this. Guilt was his strongest emotions as he looked at him, taking in the chapped lips, dark circles, the beginnings of a breakout on his forehead. “I don’t have an excuse. I’m not here to make excuses. I’m sorry, and none of this was your fault. It was never anything personal, I don’t even know what I was thinking anymore. I overthought, I spent too much time thinking rather than just letting things go.”

“I overthought.” Moonbin repeated, softly, his throat closing around a rising lump. He had dropped Dongmin’s gaze while he spoke, he couldn’t look at him as he apologised. He had kept his eyes on the floor, looking blindly at the patterned carpet, fighting the urge to look up at him. As he finally looked back up, unsure about what he would see, he was met with the gentlest of smiles, and shiny eyes. He saw nothing but kind understanding and undeserved forgiveness.

“Bin,” Dongmin huffed, almost laughing. “You don’t need to explain it past that. I know overthinking.”

It would have been easier if Dongmin had reacted angrily. He would have _preferred_ it if Dongmin had yelled, screamed, even hit him. He would have understood _that_ , fueled by a week of confusion and thinking he’d done something so wrong to turn a new friend on him. He would’ve understood that feeling of betrayal, relief that he hadn’t done anything wrong, but also frustration that there hadn’t been anything wrong in the first place. He’d lost sleep he hadn’t needed to, skipped meals he would’ve loved to eaten had he not felt sick to his stomach with anxiety. He watched everyone else worry for him, care for him when he was upset over something that wasn’t even his fault.

Moonbin didn’t understand the sweet smile Dongmin offered instead. He didn’t understand how he could so easily forgive him.

He decided that he didn’t care. Watching Dongmin’s face relax, smile in relief, cry with happiness; he couldn’t help but smile back. He leaned forward and buried his face in Dongmin’s shoulder, wrapping his arms around the boy that he liked _so very much._

 

 

Beside him Minhyuk audibly sighed with relief as Dongmin called Moonbin’s name down the hallway. Dongmin’s arm wrapped around Moonbin’s shoulders, pulling him against his side. Moonbin heard a faint _‘idiots’_ from Minhyuk has he jogged away toward Sanha, where he did exactly the same thing to Sanha.

“Coming to rehearsals today?” he asked right next to his ear. Dongmin’s hair tickled the side of Moonbin’s head. Moonbin nodded, smiling at their closeness, taking a deep breath and savoring the moment before Dongmin pulled away to turn into his classroom. “I’ll see you there, then. Don’t be late!”

Moonbin, was in fact, late.

It didn’t matter so much, though, when he walked in to hear Dongmin’s deep laugh as Myungjun ruffled his hair, the rest of them hugging him. He could hear Sanha’s faint squealing, from where he was probably right in the centre with Dongmin. Jinwoo was smiling a toothy smile, Myungjun cheering loudly. Even Minhyuk had joined in. Moonbin stood back, watching the scene with a fond smile.

Later, when the two of them sat down with their shoulders pressed against each other, Dongmin informed him with an embarrassed smile that they were congratulating him on a smooth run-through of the script. Moonbin felt awful, and forced a smile back.

“Hey, don’t worry about it, yeah? It’s fine now.” Dongmin nudged him. Moonbin stared at him in amazement. Dongmin had been the one suffering, yet offered words of comfort to Moonbin like it had been him in the worse position. He frowned, and dropped his head down onto Dongmin’s shoulder.

 

 

**_from: minhyuk_ **

_when will u be there_

 

**_to: minhyuk_ **

_idk when’s it start_

 

**_from: minhyuk_ **

_u should know??_

_lmfao ur bf will be sad u dont even know when it starts_

_pay more attention_

_7:30pm_

 

**_to: minhyuk_ **

_thx_

_he’s not my bf btw_

_and i only didnt know when the actual thing starts_

_i know their act is around 8:30 and thats all i cared abt tbh_

 

**_from: minhyuk_ **

_fair_

_see u there 7:20?_

 

**_to: minhyuk_ **

_ya dont be late_

 

 

Moonbin made a beeline for the familiar shade of brown that he recognised as Minhyuk’s hair. He greeted him, before being lead inside. There were hundreds of students milling about, not wanting to sit down and commit to the ceremony yet. Tonight was the mid-year awards night, which the school held because of its size. It helped cut down on the amount of time spent at the end of year ceremony, and kept spirits high. This was the night that the smaller awards were given, the encouragement type awards, and the more subject-specific awards.

The drama club were invited to perform to break up the night, to keep people interested, and also to give them a chance to perform at a formal event. Moonbin and Minhyuk sat together, waiting for their friends’ performance, not listening to much else. They watched teachers and students deliver their speeches, only listening to Jinwoo as he delivered his speech as school captain. It was a reminder of how well spoken he could be, but he never spoke that formally. _Especially not to Sanha_ , Minhyuk had whispered, holding in a laugh. When Jinwoo finished his speech and walked off stage, they both tuned out again.

They sat up straighter when the drama club were invited to the stage, dressed in their uniforms. Getting to know the boys had given him a different view of them. He could see their nerves even though they wore a well practiced poker face, instead it was evident in the way Dongmin glanced around, the way Sanha looked to Myungjun just to reassure himself. This time around, Moonbin listened to the dialogue although he knew it fairly well. He smiled fondly at Dongmin’s animated expressions, at the perfect delivery of his lines. His chest swelled with pride as the audience laughed at the jokes, as the boys had been worried that their humour wouldn’t be that funny to anyone but themselves.

They didn’t mess up any lines, to both Moonbin and Minhyuk’s relief, and finished the act strongly. They clapped loudly, cheering to the point where other students turned around and laughed in good spirits. Myungjun’s smile was more satisfied than anything, knowing his hard work had paid off, and Dongmin looked relieved. Sanha was overjoyed by the looks of things as he trotted off stage.

Moonbin ended up receiving an award for his language subject, much to his surprise. As he stood on stage with other students receiving awards, he felt something inside him shift. This really _was_ his school now, and the faces he saw beneath him were his fellow students. Minhyuk was there in the crowd, expression caught between a look of pride and mischief.

 

Before heading off to have celebratory icecream together, they all cheered and hugged as a group as they reformed outside; after they had been dismissed from the ceremony. Minhyuk was spewing compliments at Sanha, speaking a million words a minute, and Jinwoo had wrapped his arm around Myungjun’s waist to drag him in for a hug. Dongmin walked toward Moonbin, a huge, lovely, shy smile on his face. He wrapped his arms around Moonbin, and they rocked side to side in a tight embrace.

“You did so well tonight,” Moonbin praised him, voice muffled by Dongmin’s shoulder. Dongmin had a new cologne on, he was sure of it. “I’m really proud of you.”

He could feel Dongmin’s deep, breathy laugh rumble through his body. He held Dongmin closer, selfishly. He sounded flustered just from his laugh, spawning an idea in Moonbin’s mind.

“You never fail to amaze me, Dongmin. Everything you did up there was so perfect.” He continued to compliment him, saying the things he’d wanted to for _months_ now, all the while feeling Dongmin bury himself further into Moonbin’s arms. His breath was warm as he giggled into Moonbin’s neck, sending shivers down his spine. Dongmin pulled away, and in the dim outdoor lighting Moonbin could see the bright flush on his cheeks. Dongmin was making a very poor attempt at hiding his smile.

“I couldn’t have done it without you, Binnie.”

Moonbin smiled with force, looking up at the night sky, feeling every type of happiness bubble up in his chest. Dongmin stumbled forward again, hugging him tenderly.

“You made me want to improve.” Dongmin’s voice is barely a whisper, but Moonbin liked it that way. It felt private. He could hear the smile in Dongmin’s voice, shy and sweet. “Because I wanted to look good in front of you.”

Moonbin’s stomach flipped so violently he felt a little sick, really, and his heart pounded in his chest. His mind went blank, and all he could think of was Dongmin. _Dongmin, Dongmin, Dongmin._ An even bigger smile broke out on Moonbin’s face, and he giggled into Dongmin’s shoulder. Pulling away yet again, Dongmin fixed his eyes on the floor, teeth biting down on his bottom lip. Moonbin took this moment to watch him, his long eyelashes falling down against the rosy skin of his cheeks. His hair looked soft, illuminated in the soft brightness of the moon and artificial light.

“You’re awfully cute, Dongmin.” He whispered before he could think twice.

Dongmin looked up with wide eyes, mouth open in the cutest of shocked expressions. Dongmin visibly swallowed, sighing almost in disbelief. His cheeks were still that wonderful red that Moonbin just adored, matching the colour of his lips that formed the words that would echo in Moonbin’s mind from tonight onwards;

“Ah, Moonbin. I like you way too much.”

**Author's Note:**

> tbh i didnt realise how little plot this had until i tried to tag and write a summary but thats okay!! i enjoyed writing this actually!  
> i hope this was alright to read !! thank you for reading all of this though, i really appreciate it. [let me know](https://jinjangled.tumblr.com/ask) what i should do more of, less of, or in a different way, it is much appreciated.  
> (also lmk if i have a typo, im v bad at spotting them)  
> love u


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